


Deathbed Confessions

by rollie_ravioli



Series: Late Night Confessions [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Needs a Hug, Akechi Goro is Bad at Feelings, Angst, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hopeful Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:59:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27015385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rollie_ravioli/pseuds/rollie_ravioli
Summary: “That’s why I created a reality where you two could have a fresh start together.”With those words, Goro watched as the leader of Phantom Thieves, his rival, froze as Maruki revealed his trump card in his crazy game of false realities.A look into Akechi's thoughts during the conversation on 2/2, as well as his thoughts when Akira decides to reveal his own secret to him afterwards.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Late Night Confessions [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1976674
Comments: 2
Kudos: 144





	Deathbed Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first thing I've written in years, so it might not be all that great. 
> 
> Persona 5 Royal has been one of the only things getting me through terrible year, and I just felt the need to write this up to cope with some of my feelings about the ending of the 3rd semester. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this :)

“That’s why I created a reality where you two could have a fresh start together.” 

With those words, Goro watched as the leader of Phantom Thieves, his rival, froze as Maruki revealed his trump card in his crazy game of false realities. 

Goro had already deduced that he was another by-product of this twisted world weeks ago, of course. The fact that he couldn’t remember how he had managed to survive, and the revelation that some of his previous victims had somehow returned from the dead were all the evidence he needed to solve that mystery. 

But what he couldn’t figure out, and what Maruki had just revealed, was who exactly would be dumb enough to wish him back to life.

Now that he thinks about it, he supposes that it should have been obvious. Akira Kurusu was the only person he knew with a saviour complex large enough to include the person who killed two of his friends’ parents, tried to assassinate him, and then attempted to kill him and all his friends. It must have been so painful for him, not being able to save just one life, worthless as it is. 

Goro continued to watch as Kurusu threw the calling card to Maruki, although there was no life or energy to the action. In fact, ever since he had heard the news, the other teen seemed to go completely quiet, and could barely stand to look at anyone else. Why does he seem so upset about this? Goro though as he watched Maruki give his ultimatum. 

Once the doctor had left the café, Akechi turned to Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves, who has stood fearless while facing countless enemies, who now appeared as though he had just heard the worst news of his entire life.

Goro looked down at Morgana. “I’d like to speak with him.” 

“Akechi…” the cat said in reply. Goro really hoped he would not have to listen to a fucking cat throw him some pity party because of this. He had already made his decision on this fucked up false reality. Now all that he had to do was convince the man who refused to leave any of his teammates behind that he was not worth saving.

Well, Goro was never a member of the Phantom Thieves. This should be easy. 

The two teens watched as the cat exited the café, leaving them alone. Kurusu stood up to face Goro, who could clearly see that tears were beginning to form behind his glasses. 

Goro talked. He talked about how he refused to let another madman with a god complex control his life.

Goro waited for a few seconds before he heard a quiet response, “but then, you’ll…”

“So what? That’s the path I chose.” Goro was getting angry. He can’t allow himself to continue to live under some therapist’s thumb just because the teenager he tried to assassinate refused to let him die because of some fucked up sense of justice or morality or some other bullshit reason. “All you have to do is stick to your guns and challenge Maruki.” He continued. “Or are you really so spineless that you’d fold over some bullshit, trivial threat on my life?”

“This isn’t trivial, Akechi! Your life isn’t trivial!” Kurusu yelled back, visibly holding back tears. 

“Yes! It IS!” Akechi replied coldly. Why did Kurusu care so much? Why was he willing to let himself and all his friends continue to live in some crazy dream world for someone that no one else had ever cared for, someone who had done countless unforgivable acts? “Do you think I’d be happy with this? Being shown mercy now, of all times? I don’t want to be pitied! This isn’t something I’m debating with you.” Goro avoided the other teen’s gaze as he spoke. 

The café was silent for a few moments, both of them refusing to speak. Goro continued to hear the quiet sniffles that Kurusu was trying and failing to repress. He still couldn’t meet the other’s eyes. As they stood in the silence, Goro couldn’t help but think back to all the nights the two had spent together, listening to the music at the jazz club or playing against each other at billiards. Even though he was plotting the other’s downfall, Goro couldn’t help but feel some sort of connection with his opponent. If only he had realized what an idiot he had been to follow Shido sooner, and maybe… 

Goro stops himself from going down that path. His choices have already been made, and it’s far too late for him now.

“Your indecisiveness on the matter is essentially a betrayal of my wishes.” Goro lets out. He looks up and stares into the teary eyes of his rival, and says “I want to hear you say it, aloud. What do you intend to do?”

Kurusu stays quiet. He looks away from Goro and seems to stare at the chess board sitting on the bar. Goro also remembers the nights he would spend at LeBlanc, delightfully playing against the other teen while discussing some matter or another. Now that he thinks about it, those quiet nights discussing philosophy or the phantom thieves with the person he planned to shoot in the head had turned out to be some of the few points in his miserable life where he truly felt at home. Its pity he didn’t realize sooner.

“I won’t wait a moment longer. Answer me.” Goro commands. He waits anxiously for a response, staring at the only person in this whole god-forsaken world that he would trust, that he actually cares about for some reason, terrified that he might let him down and force him to live out the rest of his life as some puppet. He’s had enough of being a puppet.

After what feels like hours but was likely only a few seconds, Kurusu looks up at him with tear-stained eyes and says “Okay. We’re stopping Maruki.”

Goro lets out all the tension that had been building for the conversation in that moment. I knew I could always trust you, Joker. 

“All right, I’m relieved to hear it.” Goro responds. “I will never accept this form of reality. I’m done being manipulated.” he declares. “Let’s go back... to our true reality.”

With this final statement, as his and Kurusu’s goals coincide for what feels like the first time, Goro feels something within him change, and all the sudden the place in his heart that was reserved for Loki was now taken up by a new, more powerful Persona: Hereward. Well, that will certainly help with the battle tomorrow, he thinks to himself.

As Akechi turns to leave, he looks back to Akira. “What’s a life worth in a reality that was cooked up just to satisfy someone else? I say none.” he explains before turning his head back to the door. “We have to win this, no matter what.” With that, Goro begins to head for the door, satisfied with the knowledge that Akira would respect his wishes, and that soon enough, he wouldn't have to live under the thumb of anyone else, ever again. 

But before he can exit the café, he is stopped by a hand around his arm.

“Wait… please.” Akira chokes out.

Goro turns back to look at his rival, who was staring at him with quiet tears continuing to roll down his cheeks. He lets out a snarl. “Please don’t tell me you’ve changed you mind now?” 

“No, I haven’t. I just…” the teen responds before going quiet for a second, and then saying “can you please just stay here, just a for a little bit?” Akira looks at him with wide eyes, still refusing to loosen his grip of Goro’s arm, as though if he lets go then he will disappear right then and there.

Goro stares back at the him, pondering what kind of game the other boy could be playing. 

He must have been pondering for a little long because Akira speaks up again, “I just… I don’t want to…” He looks down for a moment and seems to be concentrating on something, before he looks back into Goro’s eyes and says, “If I have to lose you again, can you please just spend one last night with me?”

Goro’s eyes widen. Why would he want him to stay? It made no sense. He thought maybe this could be some sort of sick joke, but Goro like to think he knew Akira better than that. So, he responds with a simple “Why?” 

“Because, for some crazy reason,” he begins, as he wipes tears out of his eyes, “I love you.”

Goro stands quiet for a second before replying “No you don’t.” 

Akira shakes his head in response as he lets out another sniffles. “Uhm, I’m pretty sure I do.” He gives Goro a weak smile. 

“Are you an idiot? I’ve tried to kill you. Twice! I killed Sakura’s mother! I killed Okumura’s father! I’ve killed others, too.” Goro suddenly found that his eyes were watering. 

“I know.” 

“I’ve lied to you for months! My charming detective prince persona was all a falsehood, you know this! I, I.. I was plotting to kill you for months! I framed you for murder!”

“I know.”

“Why then?! Why do you say you love me when you know I’ve done all this?! Why do you say you love me when… when no one else would?!” Goro couldn’t help but let out a sob. 

Akira loosened his grip and moved his hand further down Goro’s arm. Quiet tears continued to make their way down his face. “Because, when I look at you, I don’t see the pleasant detective prince, nor do I see some feral interdimensional assassin.” Akira was now holding on to Goro’s hand as he pulled him further into the café and away from the door. 

“When I look at you, I see someone who is smart and resourceful, someone who is charming and surprisingly funny. I see someone who has been hurt by this world in unimaginable ways, who didn’t have anyone else to turn to when things got too hard for them.” Goro glances up to see Akira’s eyes staring into him, but they were no longer filled with pity and sadness. No, now it seemed that they were filled with some other emotion he wasn’t all too familiar with.

“I know, Goro,” he flinched at the use of his given name, which he felt like he had not heard in years, “that I felt some kind of connection with you, even when you were plotting my downfall. And I’m pretty sure you felt it too.” Goro nodded in response. “I don’t think I’d ever felt that a connection like that before. I… I knew you were up to something, but I still couldn’t help but spend time with you. You challenge me like no one else, you know that right? I never would’ve been able to get as good as I am at pool if you weren’t there to keep me on my toes every step of the way.” Goro smirked at that, as he used his free hand to wipe tears from his cheeks. 

Akira stayed quiet for a small moment before he broke eye contact and looked down. “When I… when I lost you the first time, I couldn’t bare it. I could barely manage to get out of bed. The thought that I’d never get to finish our duel, I just…” he stopped to sniffle again and wipe more tears away. “I just wanted to get to know you better. The real you. Not the phony detective prince or the angry metaverse killer.” 

They stayed quiet like that for a few more moments, as tears continued to roll down both of the boys’ faces, neither looking each other in the eye. 

After a few more moments, Goro let out a sob. “I’ve done so much wrong.” He whispered. “I done so many terrible things, and I always thought that if someone knew the real me, they would be scared, or they would think me pathetic.” 

“I’m not scared, Goro. And I’d be an idiot if I thought you were pathetic.” Both of the boys let out a small laugh with that. “What you did was wrong, I can’t deny that. And there is a chance that some of the others may not forgive you for what you did.” Goro tried to look away before Akira brought his free hand up to bring his gaze back to him. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to right your wrongs. It’s never too late to repent. And it’s also never too late to seek help with that.”

“I think you forgot, after tomorrow I’ll go back to being dead.”

“We don’t know that you actually died, though.” Goro was ready to retort before Akira continued “we never saw a body, and how would Maruki know what happened to you? He wasn’t on Shido’s ship.”

“But the odds aren’t really in my favour here. You saw how many shadows were there.”

“The odds have been against you since before you were born, Goro. And yet you made it this far.” They were quiet for a moment after that, both of them leaning their foreheads into one- another. “I know it’s unlikely, but I won’t give up on you, Goro. I’ll look for you, once we get back, I swear.”

Goro knew he wouldn’t get any luck. All the evidence pointed to him being dead. There was no way he made it off Shido’s ship alive. But he wasn’t going to say all that. Instead, he just says “Okay.”

In that moment, Akira closed his eyes, lifted his head up, and brought his lips to Goro’s. Both of them stayed like that for what felt like forever, neither wanting to open their eyes in fear that the other would disappear if they did. 

“Will you comes upstairs with me?” Akira whispered after they eventually broke apart.

“Okay.”

\-------

After they had defeated Maruki, Akira had woken up in a cell.

He knew this was a bad sign. If he was in here, that meant Akechi had never shown up to turn himself in. But he refused to give up hope.

When he got to see the rest of his friends again, he took Futaba aside and asked her to look into Akechi’s whereabouts. Two weeks later she came back with no information, but still, Akira refused to give up hope. 

As the weeks went by, he had thought that maybe Goro would show up one day, dramatically entering LeBlanc, declaring that he was not dead and then proceeding to do explain to Akira how exactly he had survived and why he had taken so long. But as time went by, that scenario seemed less and less likely. But he still refused to give up hope. 

Akira was looking down as he entered the train that would take him back to his small hometown. Not only did he have to say goodbye to the greatest friends that he could ever ask for, but he had failed to find any clue to Goro’s survival. It seemed more hopeless with each passing day, and now that he was leaving Tokyo, he began to worry that he was wrong, and that Goro had failed to make it out of Shido’s palace. 

Akira was so lost in these thoughts that he almost failed to notice the familiar looking teen wearing the same jacket he had seen on countless nights at jazz club walk just outside his train window. But luckily, some of Igor’s third eye ability still remained within him that he managed to just catch sight of the boy before he left his view.

Akira knew that it could just be someone else with the same jacket. He knew it could’ve just been a trick of the light. But he also knew that he had a promised rematch against his rival, and he knows that his rival would not let him down. 

So, knowing all this, Akira smirked at the window and sat back in his seat, impatiently awaiting the reunion he was sure would come.


End file.
